Proper maintenance of the curtilage, or yard, of a dwelling or business is often a time and labor intensive task. For example, in locations that experience relatively cold climates, the collection and removal of leaves that have fallen from trees, and the removal of other refuse, may constitute a significant task.
Yard tarps, which may be made from, for example, water resistant canvas coated with plastic or latex, are often used in connection with the collection of fallen leaves. Conventional yard tarps, however, are problematic for many reasons. For example, when raking leaves onto conventional yard tarps, the rake tines often catch the side of the tarp, thus pulling at least a portion of the tarp onto itself. When this occurs, the leaves are no longer raked entirely onto the tarp, but rather a significant portion is raked onto the ground where the tarp formally was situated. Additional problems also arise in connection with the use of conventional tarps while transporting gathered leaves. For example, when trying to take the leaf filled tarp out to the street for pickup, leaves frequently fall out of various sides as the user attempts to awkwardly hold together all four corners of the tarp while it is being moved. Furthermore, the materials currently used to construct conventional yard tarps are generally intended for covering wood piles, boats, cars and the like (e.g., for protection from inclement weather only), and are not designed to stand up to the type of prolonged friction that may occur while dragging the tarp, filled with leaves or other refuse, to the street for pickup.
Therefore, what is needed is an apparatus for collecting, storing, and/or transporting various items, such as fallen leaves, without the aforementioned and other problems commonly associated with conventional yard tarps.